Mistake
by Golden Snowflake
Summary: She suddenly realized what was bothering her. She had been blind to destiny and she could never go back... major Sparrabeth!


I don't have much to say about this one! Like all the others, it's a oneshot. I just think that someday Lizzie will open her eyes and realize what a mistake she made... Review and let me know if you agree!

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With a gasp her eyes opened. Even though they were the golden brown, her sorrow had turned them cold in the moonlight. Beside her lay her husband, arm wrapped around her waist as the wind blew through his glistening hair. She smiled weakly at him; sleeping like a child with his mother. She stopped smiling. He _was_ like a child.

Was that it?

Something about Elizabeth's husband had been troubling her. Of course, he was loyal, noble, and pure of heart. To herself, she wondered, aren't those the things any woman would want? Something to kill for? He was everything good and just- not to mention handsome.

And yet it troubled her.

William Turner was loyal. But loyal could theoretically be a bad thing. His faith in things out of his control had almost gotten him killed uncountable times in the past. From their first meeting she knew she adored him, but his constant doting quickly got old. Now he was loyal to her and her alone… but loyalty and love are two very different things.

William Turner was noble. But nobility is blinding. While he aimed for his goal, his noble goal of course, he stumbled straight through whatever stood between he and it. That usually meant swashbuckling pirates, well-armed commodores, and an irritable kraken or two. Everything she had fought for, she fought for with her life, but that meant doing anything to win it. Piracy had been the best and actually, the most practical tactic almost all of the time. Because he couldn't see this, he'd put himself, their comrades, and her in completely avoidable danger hundreds of times.

William Turner was pure. But while pure is commendable, it's, frankly, quite boring. This was her last chance to see him for a decade. Elizabeth was an honorable and upstanding woman, but pirate was in her blood. Ten years was a good long time to plan how she would enjoy her husband's company. Her tries to use any of those ideas had failed against his blind persistence, and although she knew it was cruel to judge, she hadn't been impressed by his lovemaking.

Aside from all this, there was one other thing. Something she hated to think about because it gave her more comfort than Will could. Number one in the trio in which they existed. The one who occupied her thoughts on cold, rainy mornings as she gazed out her window or haunted her memories as she leaned against some palm tree on dark Tortuga nights.

Captain Jack Sparrow.

His playful, glimmering eyes immediately illuminated her mind. His smile, his voice, his scent, his essence as a whole. Every word he'd ever murmured flickered through her head as a tiny gasp escaped her lips. _Welcome to the Caribbean. One word, luv: curiosity._ One lingered far longer than the rest.

_Pirate._

While William was blinded by loyalty, Jack was guided by it. While William was endangered by nobility, Jack was strengthened by it. While William was limited by purity, Jack was enabled by it. He was everything her husband wasn't. And unlike Turner, who she suspected only felt a childlike affection for her, she knew firsthand that Jack was capable of love. She made him think she loved him… and in that brief moment he loved her back.

_He_ troubled her.

As she gazed up at the sky, a billion stars shining brightly out of their own sleeping ocean, she sighed. Guilt always plagued her when she thought of him and yet tonight it filled her with relief. He was out there somewhere at this very moment. She licked her lips thoughtfully as she wondered what he was doing. Drinking? Fighting? Maybe even … thinking of her?

But no, now she was Elizabeth Turner. Her husband had won her heart with everything in him. Now she had allowed someone else to steal it. Someone who she now knew was much better suited for her; the perfect companion for her. A true pirate. Her heart ached as she thought of him; all he had done to save and protect her. She could never go back and undo her terrible mistake.

"I love you," she whispered to the night, praying that somehow he'd hear her.

From below, Will stirred. A smile stretched his lips through his sleep. "I love you too, Elizabeth."

Looking down at him nervously, she shook her head. _No. Not you. Never you._ She longed to shout it at the man- the boy -lying with her. Instead she stroked his hair, resting her head on the sand and looking the other way.

As a tear slipped down her cheek, Elizabeth Turner closed her eyes.


End file.
